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1\ ARRESTING ^ 
\\ EXPERIENCES 4'' 

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AN ACCOUNT OF 
OUR ARRESTING EXPERIENCES 

BY 
CONWAY EVANS 



PRIVATELY PRINTED 
1914 



ID 6^ 

\One Hundred Copies printed'] 




D. B. Updike^ The Merrymount Press^ Boston 



^"^'lin^l 



TO MY TWO PLUCKY LITTLE 
FELLOW PRISONERS 



AN ACCOUNT OF 
OUR ARRESTING EXPERIENCES 



WE had been travelling for many 
weeks, — Lyra Nickerson, Kather- 
ine Seller mer horn, and I, — and after a beau- 
tiful tour through Germany, we arrived at 
Berlin on the evening of July 29, 1914. We 
had planned to spend a few days there pre- 
paratory to embarking at Hamburg in the 
Viktoria Luise for a northern cruise, and 
were looking forward to a short stay in the 
splendid capital. When we had secured our 
rooms at the Hotel Adlon , we found to our dis- 
may that Kitty's box had not come through 
from Dresden, our last stopping-place. I 
went downstairs and interviewed the porter. 
He explained that, owing to the talk of war, 
many people were leaving their summer 
quarters, so that traffic was considerably con- 
gested. In this wise did the litde cloud appear 
upon our horizon. 

The following morning (Thursday) we 
went sightseeing, and in the afternoon — as 
Lyra was not feeling well — Kitty and I each 
went our own way. At five o'clock we met 
in the hall of the Adlon, where we had tea 

[ 1 ] 



with her cousin, Mr. Gear, and his friend, 
Mr. Cluett. Later she and I went to a su- 
perb concert at the Frederichshain and heard 
Thornberg, the vioHnist. 

On Friday morning a little German friend 
whom I had not seen for many years came 
to visit me. I asked her if war were likely. 
She replied: '' Certainly not. All danger is 
now over." This was encouraging, for I 
thought she knew what she was talking 
about. 

In the afternoon we hired an automobile, 
and motored out to Potsdam. Then when we 
were outside the old Palace we heard that 
the Kaiser's " strong-for-peace " policy had 
been of no avail, that the Czar had insulted 
his messenger, and that now war was 
inevitable. We ourselves, chameleon-like, 
assumed the German colour. We believed 
what we were told, and felt sorry for the man 
who was called upon unwillingly to shed his 
nation's blood. On our way back to the hotel 
Kitty and I went to see Mr. Schermerhorn's 
cousin. Miss Barber, and then we realized 

[ 2 ] 



the immediate gravity of the situation . She 
told us that now war must come, and she 
also told us that the Viktoria Luise would not 
sail. With quickened pulses we drove back 
to the Adlon, where the lounge was crowded 
with buzzing, excited people. Then we 
dressed, and went to the ^'Admiral's Pa- 
last" to see the exquisite Ice Ballet. While 
we were admiring the skating, and sympa- 
thizing with the fascinating Pierrot whose 
heart was broken by the cruelty of the 
dainty jointed Doll, we were able to forget 
grim reality — to forget that the bonds that 
had held captive the great Fiend were being 
cut, and that he was yawning after his long 
sleep, and stretching his cramped limbs. 

The following morning Lyra realized the 
desirability of leaving Europe and of rais- 
ing funds. She ordered the car, and we went 
to the office of the Holland American Line 
to try and secure the Imperial Suite, but 
without avail: no passages were to be had. 
Then we drove to five banks, and cashed a 
certain amount of her letter of credit at each 
[ 3 ] 



one. At the Dresdener Bank she was in- 
formed that the Czar might capitulate even 
yet, and that in any case there would be 
three days of peace. Thereupon our spirits 
rose, and we began to make wild schemes. 
Even if Germany and Russia did go to war, 
why should we not tour in the Ardennes? 
Belgium would be a nice quiet neutral coun- 
try to remain in, till we could secure passage 
to America. 

In the afternoon we drove out to Schmock- 
witz and spent a placid time on the Miggel- 
see, but when we returned to Berlin we found 
the Unter der Linden seething with dense 
crowds of excited people and the whole at- 
mosphere charged with electricity. At dinner 
Mr. Gear came up to our table. ''You had 
better get out of this as soon as you can," 
he said. "There is going to be trouble at 
once." 

Sunday morning Kitty was awakened 

very early by a stormy altercation in the room 

next to hers. She knocked on the wall, but no 

notice was taken of her remonstrance. After 

[ 4 ] 



we had had breakfast, Lyra went downstairs 
and chartered an auto for 750 marks. The 
owner would not promise to take us farther 
than Hannover, owing to the difficuhy of pro- 
curing petrol, and moreover both car and 
chauffeur were required in a couple of days 
formiUtary duty. We consulted a large map, 
and decided to motor via Hannover to Os- 
nabriick, and then go on to the frontier, 
wherever that might be. 

When I had finished packing I rang for 
the porter to strap my trunk, but he did not 
come. Icontinued ringing with much vigour, 
and finally the nice little housemaid appeared 
on the scene and a flood of volubility broke 
over me. The porter was busy. He could not 
come. All Russians in the hotel were being 
arrested as criminals, for Russians had fired 
on a frontier town and war was declared. 
The hotel had been full of detectives for 
several days, and one ^'criminal" had had 
the room next to our suite. This piece of 
information explained the noise in No. 140. 
Theoccupant had evidently rebelled at being 
[ 5 ] 



arrested so early in the morning ! When I 
passed his room his captors were waiting 
for him, and he was calmly finishing off 
his toilette. The big lounge of the hotel 
was like a hive of swarming bees, and poor 
Mr. Louis Adlon looked simply worn out 
with worry; but he was so kind and cour- 
teous ! I shall never forget all the trouble he 
took for us. 

We got off at about 12.30 in a magnifi- 
cent Benz, driven by one of the best-looking 
boys imaginable. The hand luggage was 
piled inside the car, so I sat outside. It was a 
lovely morning, and we all felt duly thrilled 
over our dramatic departure. The crowds 
were dense, and cars stacked with luggage 
like ours were shooting off in every direction. 
As on the previous day, the very air seemed 
charged with electricity, but when we were 
once in the country, all seemed peaceful and 
calm, and one asked one's self: " Why are 
we flying Hke this? What possible danger 
can there be?" 

There were just a few indications of the 
[ 6 ] 



times — a troop of Lancers clattered past 
us, and a body of Uhlans leading peasants' 
horses with their labels attached. At Wann- 
see a car with the crown prince and prin- 
cess flashed past. On the bridge over the 
Havel, overlooking Babelsburg, a tire burst, 
and we were delayed about half an hour. 
At Potsdam we made a halt at the telegraph 
office ; but the news there was bad. No wires 
were being accepted for the "Ausland," 
and even local ones were not likely to get 
through. 

The first town of importance we arrived 
at was Brandenburg, which stands on the 
Havel. Storks were flapping round in the 
meadows, and the old stone statue in the 
main street stared down on us as we flashed 
past, as if to ask : "Why this haste? From 
w^hat are you flying ? ' ' But we had but scant 
attention to give either to him or that town, 
or to Plane or Gen thin. The blue sky clouded 
over, and by the time the spires of Magde- 
burg appeared on the horizon, the rain was 
coming down steadily. We had our first halt 
[ 7 ] 



outside the city, for two officials did not seem 
at all inclined to let us into the town where 
formerly I had spent such merry days. How- 
ever, our demon chauffeur was able to pro- 
duce papers certifying that he was returning 
to Berlin, and we were allowed to proceed. 
We stopped awhile to buy some sailcloth, 
as our trunks w ere getting woefully wet on 
the top of the car. Then off we set once more, 
in pouring rain and a tearing wind, through 
flat and uninteresting country. As there was 
nothing special to look at, I could just sit still 
and enjoy the strange exhilaration of that 
wild drive — the steady pulsation of the 
magnificent car, which like some mytho- 
logical monster ate up the long straight 
road, indifferent to the shrieking opposing 
wind and lashing rain. On, on, till grad- 
ually the furies grew weary, the gray 
gave place to gold, and the earth wore the 
* ' washed ' ' look of a beautiful water-colour. 
The road was grand, and so open that there 
was no danger. The small towns took on a 
character all their own of Old World charm, 
[ 8 ] 



and Baedeker recorded the fact that they 
were full of interest, but this had to be taken 
on trust. Brunswick made its own special 
appeal, though we saw little but old houses 
and the handsome fagade of St. Catherine's. 
Onward we raced till away in the distance 
we saw Hannover, Hke a many-masted ship 
with its high chimneys and myriad lights. 
We kept up the pace, and at 9. 15 pulled up 
in front of the Hotel Royal. I went in to know 
if the wire I had sent from Potsdam engag- 
ing rooms and a fresh automobile had arrived, 
but of course it had not. Then I returned to 
see about the dismounting of the luggage, 
and the girls stayed with me. A few people 
came to look on and became intensely inter- 
ested. More joined, and we were soon the 
centre of a crowd. We imagined in time of 
war even a stray automobile must prove of 
account. We all laughed to find ourselves 
of such importance. Then up came a charm- 
ing boy officer, who asked the chauffeur if he 
spoke German. " Ja wohl," was the laconic 
reply. ''Are you German?" ''Ja wohl." 
[ 9 ] 



The certificates were produced, and the 
boy looked them over and handed them 
back pleasantly. " Have you seen enough? " 
I inquired, laughing. "Yes," he replied. 
''Excuse me; " and with a beautiful salute 
he disappeared in the crowd. But another 
officer had joined the girls. "Please come 
inside," he whispered, and when they were 
in the hall, he asked them if they were 
enemies, to their great amusement. 

I was so busy with the luggage that I did 
not notice their departure. The real truth had 
not yet dawned upon me. The trunks were 
hoisted off the car to the ground, and the 
gay decoration of the hotel labels attracted 
considerable attention. People thronged 
round, and deciphered the various names. 
I have never seen such curiosity. Finally the 
last suitcase was carried in. The landlord 
came forward, w^ashing his hands with in- 
visible soap. "Quite an experience for you. 
I apologize, but you see the crowd thought 
you were Russians." We all laughed. The 
mystery was solved. After all it was quite 
[ 10 ] 



thrilling to be taken for Russians, and lent 
a flavour to the day. 

We had dinner, and then for a few min- 
utes we stayed in the hall discussing plans. 
A little man in uniform came in brandish- 
ing a bulletin. "We have taken a Russian 
harbour," he cried excitedly. "The place is 
in flames." An involuntary shudder went 
through me. The Russians were England's 
allies. Was this the first letter of the awful 
alphabet Europe was to be called on to spell ? 
Was this the first of the mighty German 
conquests ? 

I looked up, remembering that I was in 
Germany. Two very blue eyes were fixed 
upon me. At the moment I wondered if any 
arriere pensee lay behind that intense look, 
but the little man seemed quite friendly, and 
then our party broke up and we were soon 
all sound asleep, forgetful of the fact that 
we were in a country at war with its neigh- 
bours. 

The following morning (August 3) we 
got up early, as a car from the Adler Ga- 

[ 11 ] 



rage had been ordered at 9.30, but it did 
not come. The employees of the hotel were 
cool in their behaviour. The concierge, of 
whom one usually expects servility, proved 
surly, the waiter calmly insolent. The delay 
seemed interminable, so Kitty and I sat down 
and wrote letters, but we found it was of no 
use to post them, as none were going out of 
the country; so we put them in our hand- 
bags. Then Lyra and I went off in a taxi 
to the garage to inquire for the car, and 
found it just ready. As the luggage was 
being stacked on, two American girls came 
to ask us how we were going to get out of 
the country. Lyra offered to take them with 
us, but they refused because they had not 
packed up! 

At last we were off once more — thankful 
to be moving, and for some time we were 
able to enjoy the pretty pastoral scenery, and 
the charming little houses with black timber- 
ing set in their red brick. Our new car was 
a poor substitute for theBenz, — which had 
returned to Berlin for war duty, — and our 

[ 12 ] 



handsome boy had given place to a stolid son 
of the soil with one green and one blue eye, 
a kindly soul, who radiated confidence. Out- 
side Schloss Lippe he stopped to shift one 
of the trunks. Up sauntered an official and 
asked for his papers, which he produced. 
Then once more we headed in the direction 
of Minden. 

^'' Halt.'''' A cordon of soldiers with bayo- 
nets across the road put an end to all appre- 
ciation of scenery. The "Halt" was very 
decisive, as well it might be on such an oc- 
casion, and we were surrounded by boys — 
fair-haired, smiling boys, with whom we 
laughed and talked as much as our limited 
vocabularies permitted. The chauffeur's pass 
was produced, and proved satisfactory. If 
all ' * Halts ' ' were going to be such friendly 
affairs, we felt we were in for a merry day. 
We waived adieus to our youthful soldiers, 
but within a few hundred yards came another 
Halt, ' ' and then another, and another. The 
fifth time we realized hand-waving and 
friendly salutations were not going to get us 
[ 13 ] 



very far. Our trunks were to be examined. 
Our friendly chauiFeur pleaded for us, but he 
was squashed. ''This is war time. Exam- 
ination must be made and no risks taken." 
''Yes, but these are children. They only 
want to get out of the country." 

Now, when a woman has said good-by 
to the popular age of thirty -five, she thinks 
kindly of a man who includes her amongst 
the "children," so never shall I forget the 
chauffeur with bi-coloured eyes ! The young 
man with normal vision would take no risks, 
and we soon all joined in the game. We 
pressed our keys upon the soldiers, and not 
only invited them to climb upon the top of 
the landaulette, but climbed up ourselves, 
and obeyed all behests. The first deadly thing 
to come to light in my trunk was a Canadian 
bark workbox. "Open it." The contents 
was critically examined. Then various peril- 
ous packets were found: Soap — Soap — 
and again. Soap! 

The sun was hot, and so were we, but 
the investigation went on very thoroughly. 
[ 14] 



At last it was over, but we were told that 
we had to go to the Kontrol office — whatever 
that might be. A chinless juvenile got into 
the car with us as escort, but he was so 
weighed down with the sense of his own im- 
portance that he was not very interesting. 
At the Kontrol office we were all marched 
into a little room. It had a bed, and on a wash- 
stand was a basin filled with clean water. We 
were so dir/ty after unstrapping and strap- 
ping trunks that we asked if we might wash 
our hands. Two kindly soldiers ministered 
to us and got us clean towels, and listened 
sympathetically to the story of our examina- 
tion. Then in came the adjutant, and no one 
could have been nicer or more courteous. We 
explained that we were trying to get to Hol- 
land, as we wished to sail to America, and 
that our one desire was to get out of Germany 
as quickly as we could. He smiled, and then 
he went away, and wrote out a little paper 
and signed it. It was to the effisct that we 
had been examined, and that all was satis- 
factory. Never have three women been more 

[ 15 ] 



grateful for a little piece of paper, and when 
we said good-by to our benefactor, our grat- 
itude was very real. 

We were soon spinning along again, but 
ugly indications of warfare began to be vis- 
ible. Outside Minden Ave saw quantities of 
cannon being mounted, and then suddenly 
we came upon a motor in a ditch. Children 
were playing round it, and a man was keep- 
ing guard under a tree. Our chauffeur stopped 
to find out what had happened. The car 
had belonged to a Russian. He had tried to 
escape when told to "Halt," and had been 
shot. Truly the grim game had begun in 
this peaceful-looking land. 

Time after time we were stopped by orders 
of soldiers, and we got almost used to the 
imperative ''Halt." But we had nothing 
to fear with our magic passe-paitout . A few 
words of parleying, and then came the usual 
concession : "You may go on further." No 
one would say exactly where "further" 
meant, but surely we should get to the fron- 
tier. We headed for Osnabriick, mistaking 
[ 16 ] 



the road, however, at Liibeck, where the 
horses were being collected, and that delayed 
us for some time. The country now began 
to change in the magical way that countries 
do change when they begin to merge into 
neighbouring ones. We began to feel the 
Dutch element. Men, women, and children 
seemed to change, too, and to become more 
and more stolid. Boots gave way to sabots, 
and the little black and white cows began 
to wear the sacking jackets that they do in 
Holland. 

Before getting into Osnabriick we passed 
the railway station. The gates were closed, 
and we stood still while a long, long train 
steamed slowly by us — a train decorated 
with huge boughs of greenery — a train 
packed with men — husbands, lovers — go- 
ing to God knows what fate. They were 
shouting and waving and cheering. That is 
now a week ago. 

It was about six o'clock when we pulled up 
outside the hotel at Osnabriick, so we had 
no time to waste over food. We had eaten 

[ ir ] 



nothing all day, but now we were able to 
buy some bread and cheese to eat en route. 
We were terribly dusty, and to save my own 
new coat, Kitty kindly lent me an old one 
of hers. It was bright rose-colour, and made 
me rather conspicuous as I took my turn on 
the little seat. 

The first important place after Osnabruck 
was Rheine, and there, for the first time in 
the day, I began to wonder how things were 
going to turn out. Before we knew where 
we were, we were stopped by soldiers and 
mobbed by a dense, excited crowd. Even the 
wonderful paper did not have its usual effect. 
I was told I must proceed to headquarters 
before we could continue our journey, so I 
got out of the car, but when I saw the rabble 
which intended to accompany me, I told the 
two soldiers who were my escort that I should 
prefer walking arm-in-arm with them, and 
off we set, greatly to our own amusement 
and that of the mob which followed at our 
heels, yelling, ''Russian ! Russian crimi- 
nal!" 

[ 18 ] 



When we reached the railwa}^ station I 
was taken before the superior arbiter of our 
fate. He was a serious individual, and read 
the precious document very carefully. Then 
came the usual fiat : ' ' You may go further. ' ' 

Great disappointment of the following 
crowd — a disappointment communicated to 
the unpleasant loafers who had continued to 
surge round the automobile in my absence. 
One of them had climbed on to the back 
and hit Lyra's hat twice, but she had been 
very calm, and kept her temper. When our 
innocence was made known the excitement 
died down, and we departed amidst cheers 
and waving handkerchiefs. 

I shall never forget the next part of the 
drive. My appearance produced the same 
effect everywhere.'* Russian! Russian !." was 
on every Hp. One individual whispered to an- 
other, and small groups of people knotted 
together and watched us out of sight. At one 
place a man jumped on a bicycle and tore 
off — perhaps to give information. At first 
I did not mind, but after a while the situa- 
[ 19 ] 



tion got on my nerves. We swung past a 
man who was guarding a bridge. He was n't 
a real soldier, but he had a gun, and I Jcnow 
he feels that he lost one of the chances of 
his life in letting me go, for his look of sus- 
picion and hatred was unmistakable. Lyra 
kindly changed places with me, though she 
was very tired, and it was a relief to get out 
of the popular gaze. 

The day was beginning to close in, but 
a brilliant sun shining through heavy gray 
clouds lit up the world for a while like a 
watchful eye. We knew we could not be very 
far from the frontier, and this was confirmed 
by an official when we were stopped for the 
seventeenth time. He was very friendly, and 
gave the chauffeur much well-meant advice. 
' ' The actual frontier is at ' Kleine Brucke, ' ' ' 
he said, "but as no motors may pass and 
it is getting late, the ladies had better stay 
the night at Gronau and go on to Holland 
to-morrow." This sounded all right, but we 
felt we wanted to get out of the country at 
all costs, and that a cowshed in Holland was 

[ 20 ] 



preferable to a grand hotel in Germany. The 
magic pass had stood us in such good stead, 
there could be no hitch now we had so nearly 
achieved our aim. 

We were so engrossed with the vicinity 
of safety that not one of us realized our 
chauffeur had forgotten to light up. All I re- 
member is that we seemed suddenly to swoop 
down on a crowd, the peremptory ' ' Halt ! ' ' 
rang out sharp and clear, and we came to 
a sudden standstill. The car was besieged 
by officials of every kind, and we all felt the 
genuine hostility in the air. A man in plain 
clothes was chief spokesman. I handed him 
the Minden pass, confident of its efficacy, 
and to our dismay, he put it in his pocket. 

"We are only trying to get into Hol- 
land,'' I explained. "We have our tickets 
here for passage in the Rotterdam . ' ' " Show 
them." The tickets were produced and 
shared the same fate as the pass. "Get out of 
the auto. The luggage is to be examined." 
We meekly obeyed. There was no other 
course to pursue. Kitty clutched at her pre- 
[ 21 ] 



cious little vanity bag, which had afforded 
so much amusement during the tour. A pon- 
derous policeman pounced upon it. ''Please 
give me my little bag," wailed Kitty. "Let 
me open it and show you the contents." 

The man did not understand her words, 
but he did understand her gesture as she 
stretched out her hands for the precious bag. 
He pushed her back roughly. Did this dan- 
gerous woman think he was going to allow 
her to throw a bomb in this her moment of 
despair? He rushed off into the crowd, gave 
the infernal machine to some one else to hold, 
and we saw it no more. 

The luggage was all dismounted, and three 
wooden chairs were brought for us to sit on 
while theexamination took place. That scene 
will always stand out in our minds with 
theatrical vividness. Flaring electric lights 
lit up the road. There was a dense crowd of 
officials and loafers, and beyond, blackness. 
One or two men came up and talked. 

' ' We want to get into Holland. We want 
to get there to-night." ''You cannot. The 

[ 22 ] 



frontier is closed. ' ' ' ' But when can we go? " 
' ' When the war is over. " " That is incred- 
ible." "It is not incredible. You must stop 
here. It is a nice place. If you wanted a large 
town, why did you not stop in Berlin?" 
''Because we want to leave Germany. No 
one knows where we are. Can we communi- 
cate with any one?" "All communication 
is impossible." 

This was cheerful news, but we had no 
time in which to think it over. Lyra's trunk 
had been opened, and the examination had 
begun. Several young women had arrived 
on the scene, who proved excellent English 
scholars and most accomplished searchers. 
It was an education to watch their methods. 
Every garment was taken out, shaken, 
weighed in the hand, and held up to the 
light, then flung down carelessly. Pretty 
chiifons and fluffy dresses lay about on the 
dusty road ; but no one cared. It was a sorry 
performance, and an unworthy one. Letters 
and papers were pounced on and read, and 
it was a revelation to realize how the most in- 

[ 23 ] 



papers and letters, and I luckily had in my 
possession my permit to visit all the Italian 
galleries, with my photo pasted on to it. This 
proved me to be Conway Evans, living in 
Florence; but while the examination was 
going on, I wondered how long it would be 
before the question of my nationality would 
crop up. 

"Where is your husband?" "Flor- 
ence, Italy." "Where do your father and 
mother live?" "Lausanne, Switzerland." 
"Where is your son?" "With my fa- 
ther and mother." "Where were you 
born?" "Georgetown, Demerara, South 
America." 

I have always loved my colonial birthplace 
and suffered gladly the epithet of "Mud- 
head," but I don't suppose I ever experi- 
enced the same relief from it as when I 
realized that the worthy burgomaster's ge- 
ography did not locate it amongst the Brit- 
ish possessions, and that he was willing to 
swallow me whole as an American if I could 
deny my Russian nationality ! 
[ 26 ] 



We were certainly very kindly treated. 
A supper of eggs and milk was prepared for 
us. While we were eating, the German girls 
sat wdth us and we got quite friendly. Bit 
by bit little things pieced themselves together 
like the pattern of a jig-saw puzzle. Our ar- 
rival at Gronau was no unforeseen event. 
We had been expected, — waited for, — and 
the fifteen men who had stood across the 
road to bar our progress had their fifteen 
guns ready to shoot if our stop had not been 
instanter. Information had been sent from 
Hannover that we were suspects. Who sent 
it we are never Hkely to know — the obsequi- 
ous hotel proprietor, the owner of the blue 
eyes, the smiling boy officer, or the insolent 
waiter. No matter, we were suspects, and 
the worst conclusions were drawn when we 
arrived in a car without lights, and when 
I emerged into the flaring ring of light in a 
rose-red coat — a Russian colour, pregnant 
with criminality ! ! Had we realized our true 
position when that sudden halt was made, 
how frightened we should have been ! As it 

[ 27 ] 



was, it never occurred to us that we were in 
actual danger. 

At about one in the morning we went to 
bed, and dropped asleep from sheer fatigue. 
At about four Kitty and I woke up and dis- 
cussed the situation dispassionately. We got 
out of our beds and looked out of the win- 
dows. Rain was falling in sheets, and the 
world seemed a cold, cheerless, uninviting 
place. The soldiers guarding us paced up 
and down, up and down, in the wet. Vitality 
is low at 4 a.m., and we were as dejected 
as any two mortals could be. 

Stay at Gronau — remain in this God-for- 
saken place till the European conflagration 
burnt itself out, cut off from every soul we 
cared about and unable to communicate — 
impossible ! Having arrived at this logical 
conclusion, we returned toour beds and went 
to sleep. At eight o'clock the examiners re- 
turned to the charge. We went into a long 
room with a raised dais. There were long 
tables ranged down it, covered with stained 
cardboard mounts for beer-glasses. Cigar 
[ 28 ] 



ashes were in saucers, cigar ends on the floor. 
The smell of stale beer permeated the atmos- 
phere. It was an engaging mise en scene. 

Kitty and I were greeted by the head of 
police, two sergeants (one of them the 
bucolic hero of the vanity bag), and one of 
the girl searchers. The wearisome process 
began afresh. By the time the turn of my 
trunk came, the men were clearly bored. I 
had quantities of papers, — notes, MSS., 
sketches for lectures, extracts, charts, — pa- 
pers which would have caused wild inter- 
est the evening before, but excitement was 
on the wane. By eleven o'clock everything 
had been seen thoroughly. The chief of po- 
lice beamed upon us kindly. "It has to be 
done," he explained. 

Later the burgomaster reappeared, more 
paternal than ever, and most kindly disposed. 
He was really sorry for all we had gone 
through, and promised he would do all in 
his power to get us over the border, and he 
certainly kept his word. Out of his pockets 
came all our confiscated belongings, and from 
[ 29 ] 



some safe hiding-place was produced the 
fatal vanity bag ! 

At about one o'clock we went off again in 
the car, escorted by a now friendly police- 
man and one of the searchers . We were armed 
with a most reassuring pass, signed by the 
burgomaster himself, but when we arrived at 
the frontier and confidently handed it to the 
official there, he shook his head. ''Impossi- 
ble! Impossible!" he said. With a sudden 
rush our spirits sank to zero. This was the 
' ' most unkindest cut of all, " but out of the 
darkness came light. We were at cross-pur- 
poses, and the man thought we wished to 
motor across the little bridge connecting Ger- 
many and Holland. We assured him we had 
no such desire, that I would take a trolley car 
to Einschede, charter a Dutch automobile to 
take us to Amsterdam, and return to the fron- 
tier to collect the girls and the luggage. Then 
came the hoped-for permission, and we all 
jumped out of the car. There was the little 
bridge — Kleine Brucke — and beyond Hol- 
land, the promised land. A few formalities, 
[ 30 ] 



a few good-bys, a few planks traversed, and 
we were safe in a country that was neutral 
for the nonce : Holland, the stepping-stone to 
America. 



S.S. JVieuw Amsterdam 
A iveek later 



